Our winemaker talks about the 2009 vintage

A LONG VINTAGE

In few words, it was a long vintage, well spread in time. The maturities were less quickly obtained than usual, mainly due to differences between night and day temperatures particularly well marked this year (the more extreme day went from -0.8degrees at night to +25degrees the day after).

A FRESH AND BALANCED VINTAGE

It is going to be a fresh vintage, with very linked aromatic and analytic maturities: good sugars, acidity and aromas - good balances.

A NEW HARVESTING SYSTEM

With our new winery on site, and new harvest trailers that separate the juice from the fruit during transport, the harvest was really quickly processed at the winery. This enables us to keep a nice finesse as we can avoid skin contact on the sauvignon.

SHORT MACERATIONS AND NICE ROUNDNESS

On the pinot noir, this year macerations goes quite quickly as well. Between crushing to driaing, it takes around 3 weeks. Long macerations are not necessary. One particularity this year, is that the roundness of tannins seem to be coming quite rapidly and nicely.

A GREAT TEAM

Despite the long hours, the team has been working hard, but always with the smile and with passion. Fantastic to live!

Listening to our terroir...

We were recently talking with few other producers in the Marlborough region, and they were quite surprised to hear that by the end of the week all our pinot noir would be harvested, and half of the sauvignon blanc as well.

We might have started earlier than the majority, but for one simple reason: the fruits were ripe and showing good phenolic, analytic and aromatic balance.
To decide of our date of harvest for each block, we use a mix of berry analysis to reveal sugar, acidity, pH levels; and tastings. Tastings of the juice from the berries that we crush, but also by going in each block in different rows to taste berries and check on aromas and phenolic ripeness.

From the grapes already harvested, here are few analysis that will give you an idea of the balance we get. Also this shows it was the right decision for us to start harvest slightly earlier than most wineries in Marlborough.
But obviously it was a good decision in our vineyard, which is ran quite differently than the average Marlborough vineyard (twice higher density, guyot or guyot double pruning, controlled irrigation etc.). This is another example illustrating the combination of each vineyard, each block, each soil types, each microclimate, leads to a different working approach and different needs - doesn't this remind you of this notion of sense of place or terroir we are so attached too?

Our sauvignons blancs sit at the followings:
pH: 3.15
Tartric acidity: 8.2 g/l
Sugar: 220 g/l = 13.3 %vol potential = 24 brix

Our pinots noirs sit at the followings:
pH: 3.4
Tartric acidity: 6.0 g/l
Sugar: 240 g/l - 13.5%vol potential = 24.5 brix

We are now thinking of finishing harvest by the end of next week, with the last of the sauvignon blanc grown on the riverbed soil and all the sauvignons blancs growing on the clay.

Harvest of the Hill site - La Colline block

The last pinot noir of the season to be harvested comes from the hill site again. The fruit is is lightly bigger than from the Lone Tree block, however still under the stong wind exposition.

The winery expects the fruits with great enthusiasm. Jean-Christophe Bourgeois is still on the estate with the winery team for few days, enjoying to see the beautiful fruit coming in!

Some sauvignon on the riverbed soils harvested - La Chapelle block

Harvest of La Chapelle block, situated just at the foot of the church Ste Solange.

This old church of almost a century has been moved 5 years ago from a nearby village called Ward, to become our tasting room. Nowadays enchanting our visitors who can enjoy either a tasting, french delicatessen products, or a glass of wine and french cheese platter etc. outside. This piece of local history has found a new story to build at Clos Henri.

Harvest under the nets. Nets are installed over 4 to 5 rows at a time in order to protect the grapes from being eaten by voracious birds, which would without a second thought take care of harvesting the whole fruit for us - but without making wine!

Harvest of our Hill site - Lone Tree block

We have begun the harvest of the hill site blocks, starting with Lone Tree, a block of pinot noir. Another hard day of hand harvest on this block which is located at the far end and highest end of the hill.

Fantastic fruit, smaller bunches. The fruit seem to struggle a bit more on the hill, due to the high wind exposition and the higher water evaporation.

Harvest 2009 on the starting blocs!

We have started the harvest 2009 this morning, with our block called Nicolas. Block of pinot noir from the plain site of our vineyard on the terroir of clay.